Dussehra is Coming on 11 October 2016 after Maha Ashtmi and Gujarati month Asho(Ashwin) vad dasham(10th Day).Dussehra is Known as a Vijaya Dashmi and Ravan Dahan.
About Dussehra
Dussehra,
also known as Vijayadashmi, is a major Indian festival celebrated on
the tenth day of Ashvin month according to the Hindu calendar. This day
falls in the month of September or October. The day culminates a 9 day
fasting period of Navratri in the Hindu culture. The day also coincides with immersion of the idol of Goddess Durga.
The day is celebrated to commemorate the killing of Ravana by Lord
Rama. The day also celebrates the killing of demon Mahishasur by Goddess
Durga. Dussehra celebration spreads the message of the victory of good
over sin.
It is believed that the celebration of Dussehra
started in the 17th century, when the king of Mysore ordered the
celebration of the day on a grand scale. Ever since, the day is
celebrated with great fervor and energy. There are a lot of mythological
tales associated with the day. According to Ramayana,
Ravana was
killed by Lord Rama on this day as revenge against the cruel act of
kidnapping Goddess Sita by the former. Mythology also has it that
Goddess Durga killed demon Mahishasura after a long spell of cruelty and
oppression by Mahishasura. Another story associated with the origins of
this day is the raining of gold coins. After Kautsa asked King Raghu
for 140 million coins to give an offering to his Guru in return for his
knowledge, Raghuraja went to Indra for help who then asked Lord Kuber to
rain coins on the city of Ayodhya. After giving 140 million coins to
his Guru, Kautsa distributed the rest to the people of Ayodhya.
Largely,
the day is celebrated to commemorate the prevalence of good over evil.
The day is celebrated on a large scale in India as well as in
Bangladesh. The most famous Dussehra celebrations in India are those in
the city of Mysore. Goddess Chamundeshwari is worshipped on this day and
a grand procession of her idol is taken out across the city. Major
buildings are decorated with lights and color across the city.
Other
famous Dussehra celebrations in India include that of Kullu in Himachal
Pradesh, Kolkata and Orissa, where the festival is preceded by week
long celebrations. People visit the Pooja Pandals wearing new clothes,
prepare traditional food at home and celebrate the festival with their
friends and families. In most other parts of India, plays are organized
across cities depicting the story of Ramayana which culminates in the
killing of Ravana on this day. Statues of Ravana are burnt everywhere in
India on Dussehra and in Delhi, the event is attended by political
dignitaries in the Ramlila Maidan.
Dussehra Importance
The importance
and significance of the festival of Dussehra is the rise of “good over
evil”. There are many legends behind the celebration of Dussehra, all
depicting that ultimately it’s the “good” that wins.
Among Hindus,
Lord Rama is considered to have a culmination of all the best
qualitiesthat a human can possess, required to make this world a happy
place. Both the festivalsof Diwali and Dussehra are celebrated in honor
of Lord Rama and his morals. Dussehra is the tenth day of Navratri,
in the month of Ashwin-Kartik, while Diwali is celebrated 20 days ahead
of Dussehra. Lord Rama emerged victorious in a ferocious battle against
Ravana who had abducted Sita. In spite of all powers that Ravana
possessed, it was ultimately the good intentions of Lord Rama that saw
the face of Victory. This is generally depicted on the day of Dussehra
by burning the effigies of Ravana by Lord Rama’s bow that kills him.
People every year on this day get the moral of leading a righteous life
Dussehra
also marks the day when Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura. She
had fought a long and ferocious battle against him, who had the boon of
not getting harm with weapons. Ultimately, it was “the good” Goddess
Durga who won on this day after a 10 day long battle.
Dussehra Celebration
This
day is celebrated with very enthusiasm in northern India where people
used to proceed this festival by burning the statues of Ravan. On this
great day large numbers of fairs are organized. People used to celebrate
this day as the victory of Ram over Ravan which is also known as Vijay
Dashmi. During the period of those nine days Ramlila is also conducted
in which it tells us the story about the life of Lord Rama.
On the
tenth day the huge paper statues of Ravan along with Meghnadh and
Kumbhakarna are kept and all three are set to fire in the evening.
People are told to take part as to burn the bad evils against good evils
and follow the path of truth. In other words this day is celebrated as
the victory day of Ram over ravan.People Making Special Recipes.
Dussehra Legends and Rituls
Victory of Rama over Ravana
Rama
was the eldest son of King Dasarath who was the ruler of Ayodhya. When
Lord Rama was going to be crowned as the next King, Queen Kaikayee
persuaded the king to crown Bharat as the next king and to sendRama on
an exile for 14 years. On his exile Rama was accompanied by his brother
Lakshman and wife Sita.
A female demon Soorpanakha got fascinated
with the charm of Lord Rama and wanted to marry him, for which she
threatened to kill Sita. Agitated with this, Laxman cut her nose.
Knowing about what happened to his sister; Demon Ravana wanted to take
revenge and in turn abducted Sita. Lord Rama, along with Laxman and
Hanuman, fought a battle against Ravana and emerged victorious in
rescuing his wife Sita.
Victory of Durga over Mahishasur
The
demon Mahishasur, was given a boon by Lord Brahma, according to which,
any weapon that had a masculine name couldn’t do anything to harm him.
Taking the advantage of this boon, he caused immense destruction and
hatred. The gods were very tensed and worried about this fact; they
consulted Lord Vishnu over it, who advised them to invoke Goddess
Shakti. With God’s prayers, a divine luster sprang from the heart of
Lord Shiva and bodies of all gods forming the Adhya Shakti. The gods
then gave her ornaments, and a lion as a vehicle. She was supposed to
fight Mahishasur, the demon. For nine continuous days and nights,
Goddess Adhya Shakti-Durga fought the demon-Mahishasur, and finally
emerged victorious at the end.
